Originally published in the FiercePharma Manufacturing on May 03, 2010 by George Miller
The FDA discovery in mid-April of high API concentrations, substandard inactive ingredients and particle contamination in Children's Tylenol and other products has led to the shutdown of J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare manufacturing facility in Fort Washington, PA. The shutdown and related product recall marks a continuing slide by Johnson & Johnson to GMP-violation depths formerly reserved for offshore generics makers...
Originally published in the IndustryWeek on Apr 07, 2010 by Tom Comstock
This year will be an important year for the electric vehicle industry as car makers look to develop and launch viable battery-powered transportation solutions. While hybrid gas/electric vehicles have been around for some time, the availability of fully electric passenger vehicles is now just becoming viable for the commercial vehicle market. Many expect rapid growth of this market segment as the green movement continues to accelerate. Management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. came out with new research in January...
Originally published in the Washington City Paper on Mar 04, 2010 by Tim Carman
Here’s a question that popped up today during a panel discussion on the "Next Era of Food Safety” at the Atlantic Food Summit at the Newseum: Does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have the authority to demand a recall when peanut butter or bagged spinach or jalapenos (or pick your favorite contaminated product) is deemed...
Originally published in the Financial Times on Mar 02, 2010 by Robin Harding and Jonathan Soble
Toyota’s recall of 8.5m cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles in recent months has shocked Japan, home of manufacturing innovations such as the kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement and “total quality management”. But while there is little evidence that Japan has got worse...
Originally published in the CNET on Feb 09, 2010 by David Katzmaier
"Since the TVs work as designed, there's nothing to fix." That answer comes from Bob Perry, Senior VP of Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, in reply to a follow-up question CNET asked in response to the company's February 3 statement addressing reports about the company's plasma TVs losing their deep black levels over time...
Originally published in the the Wall Street Journal on Jan 29, 2010 by Daisuke Wakabayashi and Miho Inada
Toyota Motor Corp.'s massive recall comes at a time when Japanese manufacturers across the board, known for their attention to detail and craftsmanship, are facing a sharp spike in customer complaints, accident reports and product recalls at home. The number of incidents rose dramatically after the introduction of a new law in 2007 requiring Japanese companies for the first time to report all...
Originally published in the TMCnet on Dec 22, 2009 by Marisa Torrieri
NEI, a provider of application platforms, appliances and deployment services for software developers, OEMs and service providers worldwide, has announced that its quality management system in Canton, Mass., has achieved TL9000 certification, aligning with its Plano, Texas, facility under one common standard. In doing so, NEI said it...
Originally published in the CIO Today on Dec 17, 2009 by Harold L. Sirkin
My daughter returned to college in New York this fall. During the summer she kept many of her belongings in an off-campus storage facility. Everything was secured with a new "Made in China to U.S. quality specifications" lock from a well-known U.S. company. When we went to retrieve her stuff at the beginning of the semester, the lock wouldn't open. Though we couldn't detect anything wrong with it...
Originally published in the CNNMoney.com (blog) on Dec 13, 2009 by Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Google (GOOG) announced on its mobile blog Saturday what dozens of staffers had already leaked: the company has given employees around the world free handsets running its Android mobile operating system. The idea, according to the official report, is to have Google's own people test various advanced features and offer feedback to the company's designers — a process known in the business as "dogfooding" (as in "eating your own dogfood")...
Originally published in the the Reuters on Dec 02, 2009 by Richard Liroff
This is the second part in a three-part series exploring how to reduce your company's toxic footprint by reducing and eliminating the "worst of the worst" toxic chemicals and promoting use of "best of the best" green ones. Part one of this series is focused on corporate commitment: "How Companies Are Committing to Reduce Toxic Footprints." And part three will address the ways companies disclose their toxics footprint and engage in shaping public policy on the issue. For background...
Originally published in the Express Buzz on Nov 09, 2009 by Krishnan Arunachalam
An Indian newspaper recently reported that Ford Motors of the USA recalled 4.5 million cars due to a faulty electrical switch. Many social scientists and business ethics preachers may be wondering why such recalls are not made in India. A product recall is a request under the consumer protection laws to return to the maker, a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually over safety concerns or design defects or labeling errors. It is different from the usual warranty issued for each product...
Originally published in the ITBusiness.ca on Nov 05, 2009 by Joaquim P. Menezes
Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. Web site notes that "attention to quality, freshness and goodness" is very much a Longo's family tradition. Executives at the Mississauga, Ont.-based grocery retail chain say to live up to this goal, all its stores need to be stocked with fresh produce, in the right quantities, in response to constantly changing customer demands. But the scope of that mandate, they say...
Originally published in the CCTV on Oct 27, 2009 by Xiong Qu
Product quality officials from China and the US have met in Beijing for their third joint Product Safety Summit. The two sides have pledged to continue to cooperate in this field. On Monday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and China's Administration...
Originally published in the DigitalJournal.com on Oct 26, 2009 by Bob Ewing
The CPSC warning advises consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. About 19, 600 rechargeable batteries sold with portable DVD/CD/MP3 players are invloved in thsi recall. Coby Electronics Corp., of Lake Success N.Y imported the batteries from China.
The rechargeable batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers...
Originally published in the ECNmag.com on Oct 22, 2009 by David Garagnani and W.L Gore
Electronics packaging solutions are developed on many levels, from the board architecture all the way up to the mechanical enclosure. The individual elements that compose these solutions need to work together so that the device can pass compliance tests. While designing printed circuit boards for new electronic devices, engineers should consider electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding...
Originally published in the The New York Times on Oct 19, 2009 by Matthew L. Wald
The Energy Star program, run by the government, is supposed to bestow a seal of approval on consumer products that use less energy than competing models. But it has a number of flaws, as laid out in a new report released by the inspector general of the Energy Department, which administers the program with the Environmental Protection Agency. As I reported today in The New York Times, one concern is that manufacturers are allowed test the energy consumption of the products themselves...
Originally published in the The Associated Press on Oct 15, 2009 by Mae Anderson
Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to settle a consumer lawsuit for what could total more than $50 million over the 2007 recall of millions of toys made in China that were found to contain high levels of lead. The proposed class action settlement, filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, will resolve 22 suits filed against Mattel and Fisher-Price and major retailers on behalf of millions of families who purchased or received the defective toys as gifts before they were later recalled or withdrawn...
Originally published in the CIO Today on Oct 12, 2009 by Carl Weinschenk
Apple's policy of offering almost no refunds for applications purchased from its App Store may have implications for business users beyond the waste of a few dollars, according to In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee. He said the policy may be a yellow flag that applications are being poorly tested and more likely to carry malware. Apple's...
Originally published in the Water and Wastewater.com on Sep 24, 2009 by Amanda Fontaine
The new Phasor CV/DM from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies is the first phased array inspection device for corrosion spot identification in the marketplace. Corrosion spots are small, isolated areas where corrosion has reduced a pipe’s wall thickness and can compromise its ability to safely...
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sep 20, 2009 by Vicki Smith
Born of the Great Depression, it was a glossy, color-saturated line of cups, bowls and plates meant to affordably brighten lives and dinner tables. Seven decades later, Fiesta dinnerware is still designed to send a subtle message of optimism, but it's no longer quite so cheap. Yet Fiesta's enduring popularity and strong sales even as consumers...
Originally published in the the Reuters on Sep 17, 2009 by Staff
The U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a
voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO). Name of Product: Children's Shoes...
Originally published in the Digital Journal.com on Sep 16, 2009 by Bob Ewing
This recall involves the Duraflame Insta-match utility lighter. The handle of the lighter is either clear, red, blue, or yellow. The Health Canada advisory says the lighter has a black tip, a red on/off trigger, and the Duraflame logo printed on the handle. The recalled lighters can be identified by UPC 041137007814. Testing by Health Canada has revealed that the lighters have unsafe burning characteristics, posing a burn hazard to users. For example, the flame is too high and the lighter continues to burn...
Originally published in the KVAL on Sep 10, 2009 by Laura Rillos
Now that your son is too big for his crib and your daughter has moved from Polly Pocket to Bratz dolls, a garage sale seems like a logical way to clear out the closets. But according to a new federal law, you're breaking the law if any of those clothes, toys or other children's products have been recalled. The law went into effect in August 2008, but many people operating garage sales were not aware...
Originally published in the the Globe And Mail on Sep 07, 2009 by Carolynne Wheeler
For an already-struggling car maker such as Toyota, the recall of nearly 700,000 cars in one of its few growing markets was a painful blow. Toyota Motor Corp.'s recall last month of its Chinese-made Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Vios models, because of faulty electronic window switches that could overheat and short circuit, was the car maker's largest-ever recall in the country. But for those who monitor quality in the Chinese manufacturing industry, the great surprise...
Originally published in the the BBC News on Sep 06, 2009 by Kevin Peachey
With the lights turned down low and a James Bond movie playing on a top-of-the-range widescreen television, this might seem like an ideal evening in. But there are actually 10 televisions lined up, and Casino Royale is just one of a series of short clips including footage of snooker and steam trains being played to a panel of specialist viewers. Welcome to the TV torture chamber - a lab...
Originally published in the the Associated Press on Aug 28, 2009 by Staff
It was a bad week for major appliances with refrigerators and electric ranges recalled by the tens of thousands. In the food group there was some bad cheese and mellons, and in clothing, children's hoodies. The recalls for the week include: PRODUCT: Maytag, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand refrigerators, manufactured in...
Originally published in the WVNS-TV on Aug 16, 2009 by Sally Barton
As executive director for the Tamarack Foundation, I promote our state's fine art and craft and those who make these items by hand throughout West Virginia. I value their exceptional work because of my personal interest and my passion inspires me to help them. Six years into leading this effort, I now see the work of our state's creative residents in a different way. I focus as much on what they must...
Originally published in the East Oregonian on Jul 26, 2009 by Eric Florip
Go ahead. Check the tag on your shirt. The bottom of your coffee mug. The nearest child's toy lying around. You might find these three familiar words: "Made in China." Products manufactured and imported from Eastern countries - China and India are among the biggest players - continue to hold a strong place in the American economy...
Originally published in the Sun-Sentinel.com on Jul 23, 2009 by Diane C. Lade
Thane International, the California company that last week recalled hundreds of thousands of steam cleaners following reports of them shocking or burning consumers, now is voluntarily pulling 48,000 exercise gliders for poorly written instructions that could lead to assembly defects. Both products were made in China and sold through Thane's website or TV infomercials. The cleaners also were available at retail stores. The instructions that come with Thane's Orbitrek Elite and Orbitrek Magnetic elliptical...
Originally published in the Richmond Times Dispatch on Jul 18, 2009 by FRANK GREVE and GRACE CHUNG
Chinese manufacturers made more than half of the goods that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled last year, but few of them paid any price for producing defective wares. The long list of faulty products included Chinese-made highchairs whose seat backs failed, steam cleaners that burned their users, bikes whose front-wheel forks broke, saunas that overheated, illuminated exit signs that stopped working when commercial power failed, dune buggies whose seat belts broke on impact and coffee makers...
Originally published in the Malaysia Star on Jul 11, 2009 by Paul Midler
IF China is the world’s factory, we may all be in trouble. Given the manufacturing scandals in recent years, such as the recall of made-in-China toys and last year’s melamine-in-milk health crisis, who can blame us for believing that Chinese factory owners have no qualms choosing profit over product quality and safety...
Originally published in the Spend Matters on Jul 07, 2009 by Jason Busch
Even though "buy American" and "buy Chinese" mandated elements of each nations' respective stimulus program are capturing more attention of late than product quality scandals, you can be sure that China is still very much at the center of quality concern for many organizations doing business in the region. Now, whether or not this is more of a PR issue...
Originally published in the Palm Beach Post on Jul 06, 2009 by DON LEE and ALANA SEMUELS
The final years of the U.S. housing boom and a disastrous series of Gulf Coast hurricanes created a golden opportunity for Chinese drywall manufacturers. With domestic suppliers unable to keep up with demand, imports of Chinese drywall to the U.S. jumped 17-fold in 2006 from the year before. That imported drywall is now at the center of complaints...
Originally published in the GulfNews on Jul 04, 2009 by Dina El Shammaa
Abu Dhabi: An unregistered product for the treatment of asthma and other respiratory problems was found by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi inspection team to be sold in various outlets across Abu Dhabi. The product, known as Asthmina Syrup Natural, contains ephedra, also known as ma haung, an ancient Chinese herb traditionally used to treat asthma, colds, congestion and coughs. The herb was originally...
Originally published in the Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest on Jul 01, 2009 by Staff
Beijing may retaliate against India’s recent decision to extend an import ban on Chinese dairy products, the Times of India reported Wednesday. ”If India insists on this decision, China will respond to the safety and quality of imported products from India,” the Indian daily quoted from a letter sent by the Chinese quality control bureau to the Indian embassy in Beijing...
Originally published in the HispanicBusiness.com on Jun 30, 2009 by Mark C. Goodman and LaRhonda Brown-Barrett
When access to China became a reality, international enterprises with famous brands lined up to take advantage of the resources and market China had to offer. Doing business in and with China allowed many of these companies to expand their businesses and increase their profits to unprecedented...
Originally published in the McClatchy on Jun 29, 2009 by Frank Greve and Grace Chung
Chinese manufacturers made more than half of the goods that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled last year, but few of them paid any price for producing defective wares. The long list of faulty products included Chinese-made highchairs whose seat backs failed, steam cleaners that burned their users, bikes whose front-wheel forks broke...
Originally published in the TheChronicleHerald.ca on Jun 28, 2009 by KAREN BLOTNICKY
AS CANADA continues to deal with a recession, some entrepreneurs are rethinking the price-value relationship. As sales drop off because customers become wary of spending, it is important to resist the urge to cut prices. Price cutting works in some markets, but it doesn’t work in all. It is important to understand your customer’s view of price and how value is measured before you start playing with the numbers...
Originally published in the Buffalo News on Jun 26, 2009 by Michael J. Armstrong
As another food recall hits the news, I have to ask: How many businesses can afford to lose $25 million during a recession? That was the estimated annual revenue of Peanut Corp. of America. It went bankrupt in January after its peanuts were linked to...
Originally published in the Vancouver Sun on Jun 26, 2009 by Staff
Health Canada has recalled all Ronson Multi-Purpose Utility Lighters because two of the brands posed a fire hazard, Health Canada said Friday in a news release. Four lighters are affected by the recall: • Wind Resistant Lighter model number 1010, UPC 059136511010. • Wind Resistant Kit model number 1058, UPC 059136511058. • Multi-Flex Utility Lighter model number...
Originally published in the North County Times on Jun 24, 2009 by MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is the third in an Associated Press series examining their use and potential risks. Lead in ginkgo pills. Arsenic in herbals. Bugs in a baby's colic and teething syrup. Toxic metals and parasites are part of nature, and all of these have been found in "natural" products and dietary supplements in recent years...
Originally published in the Times of India on Jun 23, 2009 by Staff
Investigating officers are baffled by the huge influx of spurious Chinese products into the Indian market with "Made in India" label of late. Popular brands are the ones which are falling prey to such violation of intellectual property rights, say industry sources. Factors like easy access to manufacturers of fake products in China and availability of...
Originally published in the Richmond Times Dispatch on Jun 20, 2009 by MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Lead in ginkgo pills. Arsenic in herbals. Bugs in a baby's colic and teething syrup. Toxic metals and parasites are part of nature, and all of these have been found in "natural" products and dietary supplements in recent years. Set aside the issue of whether vitamin and herbal supplements do any good. Are they safe? Is what's on the label really what's in the bottle? Tests by researchers and private labs suggest the answer sometimes is no. One quarter of supplements tested by an independent company over the past decade...
Originally published in the Newsinferno.com on Jun 18, 2009 by Staff
Tens of thousands of Epic Threads and Greendog Hooded Sweatshirts sold by Macy’s are being recalled for strangulation hazard, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The sweatshirts have a drawstring sewn at the base...
Originally published in the China Law Blog on Jun 16, 2009 by Dan
I have been practicing law long enough to have seen my share of product recall disasters. The most recent was a situation involving a food company client. Our client had contracted out with another company for the manufacturing of a particular processed food product. The food product was determined to be tainted with very low levels of a potentially harmful...
Originally published in the Gamasutra on Jun 12, 2009 by N. Evan Van Zelfden
Speaking at the NLGD Festival of Games in Utrecht, Netherlands, Sean Kauppinen said that industry analysts predict revenues for the global game business would reach $57 billion in 2009. Providing what organizers called a global view of the games industry – from space – the founder of the International Digital Entertainment Agency said that this $57 billion number doesn’t take into account serious games or social games. Kauppinen also stated that the big game publishers haven’t been signing as many large deals with...
Originally published in the Compliance Week on Jun 09, 2009 by Todd Neff
Earlier this year, the toy industry knew it had a big problem: tough new product-safety rules barreling down the regulatory turnpike, and most toy businesses too small to manage compliance with those rules well. So, like the band of heroes in Pixar’s animated film “Toy Story,” the businesses united to answer a common challenge. Their solution was...
Originally published in the chippewa.com on Jun 05, 2009 by MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Lead in ginkgo pills. Arsenic in herbals. Bugs in a baby's colic and teething syrup. Toxic metals and parasites are part of nature, and all of these have been found in "natural" products and dietary supplements in recent years. Set aside the issue of whether vitamin and herbal supplements do any good. Are they safe? Is what's on the label really what's in the bottle? Tests by researchers and private labs suggest the answer sometimes is no...
Originally published in the Knowledge@Wharton on Jun 02, 2009 by Staff
Stung by consumer backlash and stiffer penalties for piracy, counterfeiting and contamination, China is working hard to overcome its reputation for poor quality. Scandals involving contaminated food and drugs, and toys tainted by lead paint, have made quality a Chinese government priority. Although the government is building stronger regulatory agencies and writing tougher standards, spotty enforcement means quality will need to be addressed both by Chinese suppliers and foreign buyers. The challenge...
Originally published in the Wavy on May 21, 2009 by Katie Collett
NORFOLK, Va. - A local drywall distributor is taking drastic steps to clear his name and warehouse. This all comes just one day after Norfolk City Council voted unanimously to ban Chinese Drywall from building projects. 10 On Your Side brought this issue to light in our investigation into...
Originally published in the CNN on May 20, 2009 by Rich Phillips
Sherri and Ira Rojhani stopped paying the mortgage on their 2-year-old South Florida home in April, victims not of a troubled economy, but, they say, of drywall from China that they believe is making them sick. They join a growing list of homeowners in 13 states who face foreclosure or the prospect of paying both their mortgage and rent on alternate housing...
Originally published in the InfoZine on May 13, 2009 by Staff
The Acting Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that a lease has been signed to expand and modernize the agency’s testing facilities. The new facility, located off the “I-270 Technology Corridor” in Rockville, Md., will enhance CPSC’s efforts to protect the public from dangerous consumer products...
Originally published in the U.S. News & World Report on Apr 23, 2009 by Kimberly Palmer
In his new book, Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game, Paul Midler attempts to explain why some Chinese-made products suffer from poor quality. Part of the problem, he says, is rooted in miscommunication and misunderstandings between American companies and the Chinese manufacturers they are buying from. I recently E-mailed with Midler, a businessman...
Originally published in the Times-Picayune (New Orleans) on Apr 10, 2009 by Staff
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has asked two federal agencies to help the state perform indoor air-quality tests in homes filled with drywall imported from China. The materials are suspected of emitting noxious sulfur compounds that corrode copper wires and household appliances...
Originally published in the USA Today on Mar 17, 2009 by Julie Schmit
Real estate agent Felix Martinez thought he'd found his dream house when he bought the 3,500-square-foot beauty in Homestead, Fla., two years ago. Then, he says, his large-screen TV mysteriously failed. Next, the air conditioner went. His bath towels smelled like rotten eggs...
Originally published in the Xinhua News Agency on Mar 13, 2009 by Lu Yanan
Consumer representatives view a strength test of wooden furniture in the test center of Anhui Bureau of Quality and Techinical Supervision in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, March 12, 2009. A total of 30 consumer representatives chosen from numerous applicants...
